18 posts categorized "Dale Tallon"

December 12, 2007

Head coach Denis Savard talked about playing with a sense of desperation tonight when the Blackhawks play host to the Kings at the United Center. Los Angeles would seem to be just what the Hawks need, a team that's tied for last in the Pacific Division and Western Conference. Still, Savard said the Kings won't be a pushover.

"They're a good team," Savard said Wednesday following the morning skate. "They have a top player in [Anze] Kopitar who's done very well. That kid [Dustin] Brown has played hard for them and [Mike] Cammalleri has 14 goals himself. They have a Hall-of-Famer on defense in [Rob] Blake and [Lubomir] Visnovsky. They have lots of good players."

Hawks rookie Patrick Kane is hoping to break his 12-game goal-scoring streak tonight before heading to his hometown of Buffalo when the Hawks face the Sabres on Saturday.

"It would be nice to get one tonight and not go in [to Buffalo] with so much pressure," Kane said. "But maybe it's meant to be for that day thay I break out but we'll see what happens here."

"It's tough because the team is losing too," added Kane. "Hopefully I can get on the board tonight and we can come away with the win."

"I think we've played three of our best games and got nothing to show for it so it's frustrating," Tallon said. "We've played 29 games [and] I can say out of the 29 we've played 25 strong games. Maybe three or four we haven't played as well as we should. That's a pretty good percentage."

In the Things-That-Make-You-Smile Dept.: The Hawks had their team photo Monday so after Sunday night's game a reminder was written in the locker room to the players: Team photo, 11 a.m.--Please shave.

October 05, 2007

Hawks head coach Denis Savard officially ruled out rookie center Jonathan Toews for Saturday night's home opener against the Detroit Red Wings. Toews is recovering from a broken finger suffered during the exhibition season when he was struck by a shot. Toews has been skating on his own at the Edge in Bensenville before that start of Hawks practices and will undergo X-rays Saturday to determine if the index finger of his right hand is healing properly.

"I didn't want him to handle any pucks for five days," Savard said of Toews, the team's No. 1 draft pick (third overall) in 2006. "We just backed off on it to make sure he's fine. He's got so much will he'll tell you he's alright but he's not ready yet. His finger still bothers him a bit and we'll make sure he's 100 percent.

The 19-year-old center had hoped to be ready for Thursday night's regular-season opener but is now likely to make his debut Wednesday night when the Hawks host the San Jose Sharks.

"You have to look out for him," Savard said. "I told him, 'You're going to play 1,500 games in the league, [missing] two or three games isn't going to hurt you.' "

Savard isn't worried about the Hawks getting shut out 1-0 by Niklas Backstrom and the Wild in Minnesota on Thursday night.

"Scoring chances were 27 to 18 for us [and] 16 to 10 on five on fives. That's 27 scoring chances. Usually you're going to get four or five goals."

Backstrom made 27 saves for his sixth career shutout. Hawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was also strong, making 23 saves. "Khabby made some huge saves for us to keep us in there," Savard said.

Robert Lang, 36, is still going strong, reaching the 800 career games mark Thursday night. Is he thinking about retiring anytime soon?

"I just go year-to-year," Lang said. "I feel good. I don't feel 36. You've got Cheli (former teammate on the Red Wings Chris Chelios) who's going to be 46, [Dominik] Hasek is 43 and a bunch of other guys are playing in their 40s. The game has changed a little bit and the guys take a lot better care of themselves so the longevity is definitely there."

Defenseman Andrei Zyuzin, who has been sidelined with a strained groin, is expected to make his season debut Wednesday against San Jose.

September 30, 2007

ST. PAUL, Minn.-- The exhibition season is over and the Blackhawks are on a charter flight headed for Chicago following their 5-2 loss to Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center on Sunday night.

During the short ride back, general manager Dale Tallon and coach Denis Savard will talk about the roster but most of their big decisions have already been made. Only a few loose ends remain.

Forwards Jack Skille, David Bolland and Petri Kontiola will be sent to AHL Rockford on Monday. Defenseman Karel Pilar, who was acquired off waivers from Atlanta, will be put back on waivers. Pilar lost the battle for the seventh defensive spot to 34-year-old free agent Magnus Johansson of Sweden.

Adam Burish, whom Savard called "our most consistent forward the whole training camp," will be on Thursday's opening night roster for the game against the Wild in Minnesota.

Rookie defensemen Dustin Byfuglien (pulled side muscle) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (wrist) will be placed on the injured list and, when healthy, will be sent to Rockford.

A groin injury to Andrei Zyuzin leaves 2004 first-round draft pick (third overall) Cam Barker in the picture on defense. Zyuzin will be evaluated further but is a possibility for the injured list.

Heavyweights David Koci of the Hawks and the Wild's Derek Boogaard dropped the gloves in the second period Sunday night. They will renew acquaintances Thursday during the opener. The Hawks' Martin Lapointe fought Dominic Moore in the third period as the teams seemed intent on sending each other a message.

"We're facing them Thursday and we just let them know it's going to be a battle for the opener," Lapointe said. "It was good competition, nothing dirty out there."

Boogaard said of his fight with Koci, "[It was] just a hockey game, you know? It was nothing dirty, the guy just wanted to fight."

September 27, 2007

The Hawks had a day off Thursday. No practice, no scrimmages, no anything.

Head coach Denis Savard had planned this day off long before the death of owner Bill Wirtz, but it probably comes at a good time. Players and coaches can catch their breath and regroup for the final few days of camp and this weekend's two exhibition games on the road. Savard said he didn't plan on doing anything related to hockey and would hang out with his family.

General manager Dale Tallon didn't take the day off, however. He claimed defenseman Karel Pilar off waivers from the Atlanta Thrashers. The 29-year-old has appeared in 90 career NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has six goals and 24 assists in his career.

It will be interesting to see where Pilar (pronounced Pea-lahsh, by the way) will fit in with the Hawks defense and whether he'll bump Dustin Byfuglien or Danny Richmond from the Hawks' opening roster.

September 15, 2007

No. 1 draft choice Patrick Kane showcased some of the skills that prompted general manager Dale Tallon to take him with the franchise's first ever first overall pick in July's entry draft.

Through the first two scrimmages of training camp at the United Center, Kane's two goals and nifty passing drew oohs-and-ahs from season ticket-holders who were on hand for an event.

He also put a broad smile on the face of Tallon. Walking down the United Center steps as Kane and his teammates left the ice, Tallon couldn't help flashing a pleased grin after watching his talented winger put on a show.

Afterward in the locker room, Kane--sitting near linemates Tuomo Ruutu and Jonathan Toews--spoke about the spark the line produced.

"We were just talking about it," Kane said. "For the first day we were pretty happy with what we did. We're only going to get better as things go forward and we get used to playing with each other."

Kris Versteeg, who was acquired in a trade with the Boston Bruins in February, scored three goals in two scrimmage games while Kane (two) and veteran Sergei Samsonov also had goals. ... Veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin looked sharp in net. ... Yanic Perreault, who was the league's best face-off man last season and was brought in as a free agent to help bolster the Hawks in that department, won the first draw of the season. ... Senior Vice President Bob Pulford sat in the stands watching the scrimmages.

One young fan ran up to his father after watching Savard guide a practice and said, "Hey dad, they do the same drills we do--except they skate a lot better."

September 14, 2007

There was a funny moment at the news conference showcasing the Blackhawks new uniforms. Martin Havlat, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were modeling and considering the event was held on the terrace of a popular Chicago restaurant, skates were not an option. The choice of footwear among the players was varied: Seabrook and Toews came out in full uniform but wore sandals. Havlat wore white gym shoes. Kane's choice? Crocs. Blue. ...

Fans shouldn't worry too much about the new uniforms--they're quite similar to the old ones. They do look more modern and have just some small changes along the bottom of the shirt. "They had some interesting designs prior that we weren't big fans of," Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said. "I think we're one of the teams that really fought hard to maintain [our old look]."

Toews on Friday's practice: "It was the day I've been waiting for for a long time. It's kind of a long summer, working out every day and doing the same thing over and over and just trying to get ready as much as you can. Now it's gametime--time to put everything to work."

September 13, 2007

As Blackhawks players were undergoing physicals in the bowels of United Center on Thursday morning, it was refreshing to hear head coach Denis Savard and general manager Dale Tallon reminisce about their first training camps as players.

Savard (1980 with the Hawks): "[My teammates] broke my sticks after the first scrimmage. I scored three goals and then they sawed my sticks in half and then when I took my shot--broke, broke, broke. It was Dave Hutchison."

Tallon (1970 with Vancouver): "I remember how hard it was. How every day I had to battle somebody. I had to fight Pat Quinn every day. Six weeks of that. I remember my hands bleeding from tying wet skate laces twice a day or four times or six times--whatever it was."

Denis Savard is a pretty good golfer. In a recent outing with someone who is not a pretty good golfer (that would be me), he fired an 82 at Big Run in Lockport even though at times he had some difficulty getting off the tee. As he said, "I can chip and putt pretty well" and that kept his score low.

Unfortunately for him, he's had more time to work on his golf swing with the Blackhawks' inability to make the postseason the last four seasons. It's clear he'd give up strokes--maybe even golf itself--to have the Hawks make a deep run in the playoffs into late April and May. He's a passionate guy who really believes bright things are on the horizon for his team. ...

No. 1 draft pick Patrick Kane seems to have matured since we first talked in July at the entry draft. He seems like a kid (he's still 18), but last week his answers to questions seemed more polished and mature than they were in July. Perhaps the giddiness of being the top selection has worn off a bit, but he sounds determined to make an impact and let his talent do the talking. ...

I've heard of a couple of instances where people have tried to call and order season tickets but haven't gotten an answer at the Hawks' ticket office. One was shortly after the draft when excitement about the season seemed higher than I can remember. I can't think of any circumstance that should happen, especially with the sagging attendance.

About this blog

I do remember the roar. And I remember my first Blackhawks game. I grew up in the western suburbs and my father took me to Chicago Stadium on Feb. 20, 1980 when Tony Esposito and the Hawks downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2.

My most vivid memories of the night are Esposito taking a slap shot to the head and collapsing, sending the crowd of 9,322 into a stunned silence. After a few minutes the Hall of Fame goaltender stood up, received a standing ovation and finished the game.

It was also the night the United States Olympic hockey team defeated West Germany 4-2 en route to a meeting with the Soviet Union and an eventual gold medal. When the score was announced the crowd broke into a chant of "USA! USA!" How could I not get hooked on hockey?

I started working at the Tribune while still in high school at Hinsdale South and I've been a copy editor, page designer, high school sports editor and now a beat reporter for an Original Six team. What a strange trip, indeed.

There's no truth to the rumor I bought a condo in the West Loop so I can take the No. 20 bus to work, but it does help make the commute to the United Center rather short.